Social Question

Will the view of gamers be changed thanks to all the new ideas being presented at E3?

There is a general misconception about gamers (I refuse to use ‘hardcore’ because that’s bullshit) that we are mindless zombies who sit on a couch all day in our parent’s basement. We’re all males and we all have zits, don’t have jobs etc.

So at E3 this year there has been a lot of games/add ons that keep harping on ‘broadening the gamer arena’ and ‘making it easier for new people to get into gaming’ by ‘making it simple’.

So, if gamers are all morons with no skills to speak of- why are all the developers talking about making games easier? Doesn’t this go against the general thought?

Do you think this change towards bringing in simpler controls/game interactions will change how people view gamers? Will people adapt their preconceived notions about gamers who enjoy FPS, for example?

12 Answers

It used to be that people thought games were only for kids. Just as games started going mainstream and becoming a socially acceptable form of entertainment, the industry decides to turn it into a kiddie toy again.

They already did that with the Wii….....lol. How many people even know what E3 is anyways? I played videogames and an MMORPG for decades and I just found out what E3 was lol. You can make different games for different people, an example is Wii Sports arena for families and Modern Warfare 2 for experts.

@Blackberry I’m fine with them adding games/peripherals to introduce more people to gaming. It’s necessary to grow the market and bring more people into the fold. That’s not my issue, here. I’m more curious if the innovations being shown at this year’s E3 will end up changing how people view gamers.

Change how they view video games? Maybe. Change how they view gamers? Not really.

The big things that are arriving at E3 for “broadening the gaming arena” have already been done years before by Nintendo with the Wii, and it’s my experience that those who picked up gaming for things like motion controls aren’t going to branch out to controller based games. It’s a nice idea for families and others who already had an Xbox or a PS3 who were looking for something for the whole family to pick up and play, but I doubt Grandma’s going to drop her copy of Wii Sports to pick up the Xbox version.

As for changing the way the world views gamers, it probably will have no effect. It’s just like how boardgames don’t change how people view tabletop war gamers. Sure, anyone can pick up a board game, but the pen-and-paper stereotypes will probably live on.

I toss it right back to you, most of the gamers I know are very much like the ones you call BS. They have moved from game to game and often neglect their own personal needs, and even those of their children, because of being glued to the game.

The conversations are all based on the latest conquests/adventures of their characters, which they refer to as “I” (I led the troops in a successful quest – I found the treasure – I sold all my winnings). None of it is real, it’s only characters on the screen.

@YARNLADY I didn’t call the stereotypes bs- just the label hardcore. I’m sorry you’ve had such bad interactions with gamers. In my experience, people who are addicted to video games are just like those addicted to alcohol- they just choose a different substance/pot hole filler.

@RocketSquid I can’t see people who enjoyed the Wii moving onto an Xbox or PS3— maybe more with the PS3 because disabled people can play, but that’s still not much. Good analogy with the tabletop gamers- I hadn’t thought of that.

whooo, all i know is some of the exibits are going to be epic, im going =). also, above statement is a misconception, thefore not always true. also eventually, we will get to the point where we dont require movement only thought to play our games, and thus the end of our civilization. (if we arent killed by robots, zombies, or artificial lifeform we decided to make, becaus we are just that dumb)

That aside, if people think that, they certainly don’t think gamers are stupid with respect to games. So saying “now we’re making it easier to game” won’t change people’s views on gamers with respect to other areas.

Anyway, anyone who thinks that about gamers deserves to jump in a well.